At the opening of his defamation trial yesterday, DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) reiterated that it was reasonable to believe that the KMT could be involved in corruption in the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四).
The DPP leader has been charged with slander for suggesting during a September 1999 speech in Tainan City that the KMT was guilty of "corrupt practices" in construction of the nuclear plant.
Hsieh, defending himself at the Tainan District Court yesterday, insisted that it was "reasonable to believe" that the former ruling party was involved in corruption associated with the plant's construction.
Addressing a party anniversary event in Tainan on Sept. 30, Hsieh told DPP supporters that "the KMT is corrupt in many things, even when buying a pair of socks or a lunch box, not to mention the NT$200 billion Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. They [the KMT] must have been corrupt in this as well."
Hsieh said yesterday that the former KMT government had been involved in many corruption scandals over the decades, and that it was reasonable to conclude that the party was dishonest when it came to the nuclear power plant's construction.
"I was saying that there exists a `reasonable belief' in respect to the nuclear power plant case and I still insist on that now. It's not a definite remark directly accusing the KMT of corruption," Hsieh said.
A month after Hsieh's speech -- amid a row heated over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant issue in November -- the KMT filed the defamation charge against Hsieh, who alleged kickback scandals might be behind the KMT's support for the plant.
Hsieh said yesterday that it is hard for him to swallow being hit with the slander charge over his anti-nuclear speech last September. He also spoke of his frustration with the fact that the government later resumed construction of the project.
Nevertheless, he stressed that he will never change his anti-nuclear stance since it is driven by a love for the country and concern for future generations.
Aside from stating that his remarks were not defamatory, Hsieh challenged the safety of nuclear power plants in general, in light of the fire and -- according to some reports, an explosion -- that occurred Sunday at the Third Nuclear Power Plant in Pintung County.
To support his charge that nuclear power poses an unreasonable hazard, Hsieh cited two little-known cases from the archives of the Control Yuan as examples of negligence by the Taipower (
In the first, a drunk Taipower driver drove and crashed his truck loaded with nuclear waste into a private premise in February 1999.
In the second, in September of the same year, another Taipower driver, leaving his truck without using the emergency brake, allowed a vehicle carrying nuclear waste to run into a valley and crash at the bottom, polluting the area.
"Both of these events should not have been possible. These events are illustrative of Taipower's carelessness and negligence," he said.
Hsieh warned the public to be vigilant and to watch the nuclear power industry carefully to ensure it maintains the highest safety standard possible.
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